Nativity Vigil Denied On Sherman Green; Fairfield Group Theatens Legal Action

FAIRFIELD, CT — A local Knights of Columbus council has accused the town of Fairfield of violating their First Amendment rights after officials denied the organization’s request to hold their Nativity vigil on Sherman Green.

“Every time we ask they give us another justification,” said Joe Sargent, an attorney and a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 2616 from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. “Why can’t they let us just stand and pray?”

The Knights have held a Christmas creche vigil for nearly 40 years at a different Fairfield venue, the Town Hall Green. For 36 hours leading up to Christmas, the group’s members stand watch over a Nativity scene.

In 2020, the Knights asked to move the vigil to Sherman Green because it is more central and closer to St. Thomas church, which would allow for a procession from the church to the green, according to a 15-page letter from public interest law firm the Thomas More Society to First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick. The Knights also want to display a banner on the green that states, “Keep Christ in Christmas.”

“The reason we want to be on the Sherman Green is to get our message out,” Sargent said.

The Parks and Recreation Commission declined to vote on the Knights’ 2020 request to use Sherman Green, and the group held the vigil on Town Hall Green instead, according to the letter.

A year later, the issue is ongoing. The commission initially declined to consider a 2021 application to hold the event on Sherman Green, according to the letter, but the body later acquiesced after Sargent complained to the town attorney. This time, the motion ended in a tie vote and another denial, said the letter, which is dated Nov. 26 and threatens legal action.

Sherman Green’s status as a smaller site located in the downtown area played a role in the rejection, according to town attorney Jim Baldwin.

“When it came to our attention this year, I looked deeply into the legalities of it,” Baldwin said. “The difficult part, apparently, for them and the commission, is their desire to hold it overnight and into the wee hours of the morning.”

The town had concerns about setting a precedent for events during which people are on-site overnight, according to Baldwin.

“The idea of saying no to us to prevent other people from free speech just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Sargent said.

The town had been in talks with the Knights, according to Baldwin, who said he had thought an agreement would be reached.

“I’m just sorry the Knights of Columbus think there’s any consideration with them being a religious group,” Baldwin said. “It is not a consideration.”

The Knights plan to hold the 2021 vigil as usual, starting Dec. 23 at Town Hall Green.